


It Worked For Bacall And Bogie

by pointnclickbait



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Harrisco Fest, I Will Go Down With This Ship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:13:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25864912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pointnclickbait/pseuds/pointnclickbait
Summary: Prompt 'Ache' for the Harrisco Fest 2020.Cisco's in love and he aches. He hides it because Harry couldn't feel the same way about him. Could he?
Relationships: Cisco Ramon/Earth-2 Harrison "Harry" Wells
Comments: 4
Kudos: 57





	It Worked For Bacall And Bogie

Cisco ached.

He didn’t know when it had first started. One day he was having an argument with Harry about something and midway through he realized.

He was in love with Harry.

Shit.

Harry had looked confused and asked him what was wrong. Cisco blurted out something, he wasn’t sure what, and fled the lab while trying to make it look like he wasn’t fleeing. He couldn’t tell Harry, the older man didn’t think of him like that. So Cisco kept his secret to himself and ached in silence.

And _ached_.

Whenever he was with Harry he forced himself to be normal, to joke and make nerdy references, to work on science. And with every one of those smiles that Harry sent his way Cisco’s heart begged him to speak up. He knew it in the extra thud it would give or the skip when it was just the two of them. But he was a scientist and his head told him that if he told Harry he risked ruining everything, that he could end up driving him away and losing his friendship. And that Cisco couldn’t risk. He would rather have a part of Harry than nothing at all. Just the thought caused a twinge in his chest. He rubbed his fist against his chest absentmindedly. He may blame his heart for the turmoil he found himself in now but he would do whatever he could to protect it.  
He was working with Harry on a device to help take down the newest meta and snarking with him when their hands brushed as they reached for the same tool. Cisco suddenly saw Harry standing in front of him and looking conflicted.

  
‘ _I can’t do this_.’

  
The Cisco in the vibe had a heartbroken expression on his face as Harry left the lab. He came back out of the vibe to see a concerned looking Harry.

“Are you okay? What did you see? Was it bad?”

Cisco shook his head.

“Nope nothing serious!”

He forced a smile at the other man but Harry didn’t look convinced. He opened his mouth but Barry raced into the room saying the meta had attacked again and was the device ready yet? Harry tried in frustration to explain why they couldn’t rush things while Cisco silently tried to pull himself together. There was only one thing that could have led to what he saw. He tried to convince himself that it didn’t matter, that he already knew Harry would be unlikely to reciprocate his feelings.

But there was a crack in his heart and he ached.

The meta of the week was finally defeated and things went back to the usual calm before the storm. He was discussing the lengthy gap between Big Bads with Barry one day when his friend expressed a concern.

“Is everything okay Cisco? You’ve been quieter lately.”

Cisco grinned.

“Hey man don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”

Barry’s mouth quirked up but he didn’t bite.

“You know if somethings wrong you can talk to me right?”

Cisco’s grin became fixed.

“Of course I do, but nothings wrong.”

Barry still looked like he didn’t believe him but he left the subject drop much to Cisco’s relief. Time passed and Cisco learned to deal with his feelings. He was so used to ignoring them now that he almost didn’t notice things like Harry’s smile, his amazing brain, the way his clothes hugged his figure because hot damn. But then a run of the mill meta had to go and point a gun at Harry and Cisco’s world nearly came crashing down. He couldn’t do anything without putting Harry in danger too and he wasn’t about to do that. Cisco spoke quietly into the comm.

“Hey Flash we _really_ need your help here.”

But Barry was on the other side of town grappling with the guys partner and Frost was with him. They would have to wait until Barry could get there. Cisco held his arms up in a placating manner.

“Let’s all calm down. Come on man, you don’t want to do this.”

The meta, Dark Night (he was never letting Iris name a bad guy again), looked desperate.

“You don’t understand! They took everything from me.”

Dark Night was using his powers to block out light in whole sections of the city and going in with a gun to enact a type of vigilante justice.

“I know-”

“No you don’t! He was all I had and now he’s gone.”

He had been walking one night with his husband when they were attacked by homophobes. He had spent time in hospital recovering but his husband didn’t make it. He was now enacting revenge on anyone that enacted a hate crime.

“You don’t know what it’s like to love someone like that and know you’ll never have it again.”

“I may not know what it’s like to lose that person, but I know what that kind of love is like. Like they understand you better than anyone and that it’s a little easier to breathe when they’re around. Like losing them would make the world so much darker and knowing that it would never be that bright again.”

He could see Harry looking at him out of the corner of his eye but he couldn’t look at him. Dark Night was looking at Cisco with understanding and his gun wasn’t pointed as intensely at Harry. Cisco prayed for Barry to hurry up.

“You have that someone too.”

“Yeah but they don’t know it. Imagine if I lost them and couldn’t openly mourn them. But you know what? I know they wouldn’t want me to go down the path you’re on now, they’d want me to go on living my life. Can you honestly say Chris would have wanted you to do this?”

There was a look of pain on Dark Night’s face.

“You shouldn’t have to suffer that. Nobody should.”

His eyes suddenly hardened.

“But I shouldn’t have had to go through it either. Chris might not have wanted me to do this but he doesn’t have a chance to talk now does he? The two of you are just in my way.”

Cisco could see the cold resolution on his face as he turned to Harry.

“Please don’t kill him!”

“Why not?”

Cisco blurted out the only thing he could think of in desperation.

“Because then I’ll know exactly how you feel.”

He didn’t know who looked more shocked the meta or Harry but Cisco was too focused on the gun to care. Cisco’s voice dropped to a whisper and he didn’t care that he was begging.

“Please. Please don’t kill him.”

He could see Dark Night struggling with himself and that indecision was just enough time for Barry to speed in and save the day. Dark Night was dropped off at the station and they were all back at STAR Labs. Things were awkward as Cisco went to change out of his costume and avoid the looks everyone who heard what he’d said on the comms were giving him. As soon as he was done he breached to his apartment and collapsed on the couch. He had a moment of blissful peace before everything crashed over him. He buried his face in his hands.

Harry knew.

Maybe he could pass it off as something he just said to distract the meta. Yeah that might work. That night Cisco’s dreams were haunted by images of not being able to save Harry, standing over his body and thinking about how he was supposed to explain this to Jesse, thinking about how he never got a response from Harry, that he would never see him throw something across the lab in frustration again. That he would never see Harry again. Needless to say he wasn’t well rested when he crawled out of bed the next morning. He entered the STAR Labs and managed to get to the lab without seeing anyone. He let out a sigh of relief. He had clearly gotten there earlier than everyone else.

“Cisco.”

Cisco grimaced as he turned to face Harry. Apparently not earlier than everyone then. Harry looked conflicted and Cisco thought Harry might be willing to just ignore the whole thing altogether.

“So what are we working on today?”

“Cisco.”

“Because I have this idea for a gun that fires lightning bolts and-”

“Cisco.”

It was said more insistently this time and Cisco knew they were going to have A Talk. He crossed his arms and wore an innocent look on his face.

“What?”

“What you said yesterday to Dark Night-”

Cisco waved a hand.

“Oh that? That was just something I said to distract him. And it worked didn’t it? Now we should get back to work.”

He turned to the nearest work bench and blindly began picking up bits and pieces as his heart pounded and he waited to see what Harry would do.

“It didn’t sound like something you just made up.”

Cisco closed his eyes briefly. He knew Harry, he was never going to let this drop. Suddenly he was frustrated with everything. How dare Harry keep picking at this, he’d been doing fine letting his heart fester in silence! If he was thinking clearly he would have known that Harry only brought it up because Cisco did first but he wasn’t feeling rational. He whirled around and glared at Harry. He was so sick of this. Of hurting and knowing there was no way out.

“What do you want me to say Harry?”

Harry glared back.

“I want the truth.”

Cisco threw his arms in the air.

“Fine! Yes Harry I’m in love with you and yes I have been for awhile. Is that what you wanted?!”

“Yes if it’s the truth.”

Cisco deflated, suddenly tired.

“Yes it’s true.”

He could see the rush of emotions across Harry’s face but couldn’t make any individual one. Suddenly he could see the conflict on his face.

“I can’t do this.”

Harry turned to walk away and Cisco’s heart broke. It was just like he’d seen. Then he got angry. He breached to stand in the doorway. Harry lurched back at his sudden appearance and Cisco walked, forcing Harry back into the middle of the lab.

“Oh hell no. You don’t get to just walk away after I tell you I love you! I’m your friend if nothing else and I deserve more than that, so just tell me what you’re thinking, reject me and we can move on.”

Harry clenched his jaw and crossed his arms but he could see he was struggling with what to say. Cisco mirrored the pose and waited. And waited. And waited. Cisco ran out of patience.

“Just say something Harry!”

Suddenly Harry exploded.

“What am I supposed to say? That I’m happy about this?”

Cisco felt his heart crack a little deeper.

“Happy that you’re willing to waste your life on someone so much older than you? Happy that you could want to be with someone you constantly refer to as cranky? Happy that one of the smartest men I’ve ever met feels the same way about me.”

Cisco’s eyes had widened as he listened to Harry’s tirade. The other man now sighed and scrubbed a hand across his face before looking at Cisco with tired eyes.

“I’m not the nicest person and you deserve better Cisco.”

Cisco’s heart was pounding in his chest but it was beating a rhythm of hope. He slowly walked closer to Harry.

“I think I get to choose who I deserve.”

Harry shook his head in frustration and looked like he was considering throwing something. Cisco finally asked the question he never thought he would have a chance to.

“Harry, are you in love with me?”

For a moment it looked like he wouldn’t get a reply but then he heard an exhalation of breath.

“Yes.”

Cisco could feel the grin spreading across his face.

“Well that’s good because I’m in love with you too.”

That got him a small smile before it disappeared. Harry sighed.

“I wasn’t kidding Cisco, you deserve better.”

“I think you are better.”

“Someone closer to you in age.”

Cisco frowned.

“Is that what this is really about? You think you’re too old for me?”

“I’m twenty-five years older than you Cisco.”

Cisco grinned again.

“It worked for Bacall and Bogie, why can’t it work for us?”

Harry huffed a laugh and Cisco could see his expression softening.

“People will talk.”

“People do little else.”

They couldn’t help the grins they sent each other. Cisco’s turned fond. He loved this nerd. He told him so. Harry frowned.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing? That this is really what you want?”

He gave Harry a look of fiery determination.

“Yes.”

Suddenly there was a mouth against his. Harry was kissing him. He pulled his brain out of the meltdown it was having and enthusiastically reciprocated the kiss. Harry gently bit his lower lip and Cisco moaned as he pushed up on his toes to get closer to Harry. When they pulled away they were both a little breathless. It was Harry that spoke first.

“Do you have any idea the torture it’s been working with you, being around you and not being able to touch you the way I wanted?”

Cisco gave him a soft smile.

“Yeah, I do.”

Harry sent him a small smile.

“And you’re sure this is what you want?”

“If you ask me that again I’m punching you.”

Harry let out a low laugh. Cisco threaded his hands through Harry’s hair and brought their gazes together.

“Just to make this completely clear, you are exactly what I want.”

Harry smiled and tightened his arms around Cisco as he kissed him again. Cisco pulled him as close as he could. He couldn’t believe this was happening. That he had Harry. They could worry about telling the others later, for now he was happy for it to just be the two of them. His brain was short-circuiting but his heart was full, more full than he thought possible. It ached.

But it was a good ache.

**Author's Note:**

> Little Sherlock quote for our two nerds. :)
> 
> Also the title is a reference to the fact that there was a 25 year age gap between actors Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart. It was considered one of the great love matches of old Hollywood.


End file.
